America’s Most Polarizing Brands, More than half (18) of the 30 most polarizing brands polled by Morning Consult are media companies, meaning Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and the broader media consuming public are particularly divided over their perception of media brands.
Instructors, click on the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt, a debate question, as well as other assessment questions.
Download the PowerPoint Lecture Spark for America’s Most Polarizing Brands
Video
TED: Can a Divided America Heal? | Jonathan Haidt
- How can the US recover after the negative, partisan presidential election of 2016? Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the morals that form the basis of our political choices. In conversation with TED Curator Chris Anderson, he describes the patterns of thinking and historical causes that have led to such sharp divisions in America — and provides a vision for how the country might move forward.
Axios: Making Better Decisions with Data
- No amount of Big Data can answer complex questions like, ‘What is the likelihood of nuclear war with North Korea?’
Articles
- Axios: America’s Most Polarizing Brands
- Axios: 10 Big Things: America’s Polarizing Politics
- Axios: Google Consumes One-Third of Our Digital Minds
- Axios: Radioactive Presidency: Trump is Poison for Brands
- Axios: Danger Zones for Corporate Advocacy
Assessment
Writing: Map out all the major events of your life in five-year increments. What happened along your path to shape who you are now? What were the most traumatic and ecstatic things that happened to you? What did you learn from them?
Debate: Argue a position in which one of the brands from the AXIOS article (America’s Most Polarizing Brands) could “speak” to the other side.
Poll: Consider how much do you trust media. View the linked Media Bias Chart (version 3.1) and from where do you get your information?
- Most Extreme Liberal
- Hyper-partisan Liberal
- Skews Liberal
- Neutral
- Skews Conservative
- Hyper-partisan Conservative
- Most Extreme Conservative
Short Answer: What core values motivate and drive you? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What aspects of how you work with others do you consider non-negotiables?
Current Events Quiz
Which of the following media outlets are preferred by Democrats over Republicans?
- Fox, Fox Business and Breitbart
- Comedy Central, HBO and MTV
- Fox News, PBS, CSPAN, and NPR
- Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit
According to the articles we read, which of the following issues are most controversial for American brands/corporations to support/advocate?
- The Mueller probes.
- Gay and civil rights.
- Gun control and abortion.
- Kittens, Kanye, Kardashians.
According to the articles we read, which of the following issues are the least controversial for American brands/corporations to support/advocate?
- Gay and civil rights.
- Capital punishment by hanging.
- A Republican candidate.
- Gun Control and abortion.
Democrats have a ____ trusting view of the media, as compared with Republicans.
- Less
- More
- Equally
- Democrats do not consume media.
Which online media source’s use is on the decline?
- Youtube
- Snapchat